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LOT 1641
Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Stirrup Mount with Pseudo-Runes
11TH CENTURY A.D.
2 in. (19.88 grams, 50 mm).
Williams's Class A Type 1 with trapezoidal plaque and narrow ledge to the rear; incised geometric design following the outline of the mount with symmetrical panels; to the neck five vertical lines, perhaps pseudo-runes. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceProperty of a gentleman; acquired in the 1970s.
LiteratureCf. Williams, D., Late Saxon Stirrup-Strap Mounts, York, 1997, item 51, for type.
FootnotesThe markings on the neck appear to conform to the shapes of four runes, being inverted chevrons to the edges (runic 'U'), a character of two verticals and a sloping cross-bar (runic 'H'), and a simple vertical stroke (runic 'I'). However, the outer chevrons are formed as the junction of the inner border with a vertical while the cross-bar appears to be a later abrasion. The form of 'H' with a single cross-bar is very early (2nd -5th century AD) and is almost unknown in England, while by the 8th century this form had been replaced in Scandinavia by a rune formed as a vertical with a small saltire to the centre (like an asterisk). It is nevertheless possible that these marks were intended as a form of pseudo-runic text.
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LOT 1641
Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Stirrup Mount with Pseudo-Runes
Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
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Viking Bronze Boar's Head Brooch with Cross
9th-10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £572
With decorative upper surface attached to a plain back-plate with spring-lugs and catchplate intact; the upper face divided by a heavy cast median rib with zoomorphic ornament in the outer panels, arranged symmetrically along the rib with a similar transverse band; the corners of the wider end reinforced with vertical posts ending in heavy lobed ‘ears’; the side panels decorated with zones of interlace ornament and the upper-end panel with a continuation of the median rib, traces of ornamental interlace; the lower-end panel plain; the transverse band pierced by two holes to accept pins (part of one one still in situ) representing 'eyes' on the stylised head; hollow-cast. 62 grams, 56 mm
Acquired in the early 1990s. From an old English collection.
These animal head-brooches were seemingly manufactured solely on Gotland, and have been classified by scholars in various ways: for example, the manner in which the back-plate is formed and applied, or if a plain internal shell was overlaid with an openwork decorative casing. MacGregor classified them according to their decorative criteria, and his scheme is generally followed in Anglophone literature. They began to appear in the Vendel period (earlier 8th century) and continued into the 12th century in a broadly similar form. Our fitting is related to the conventional group of the gripping beast ornament, here very stylised. -
Viking Period Silver Filigree Pendant
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £715
Discoid with applied filigree looped bands, granules and other detailing. 6 grams, 40 mm
Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK. -
Viking Age Decorated Silver Penannular Brooch
12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £585
Featuring domed terminals with apex granules and dense interlace and pellet decoration in relief, punched decoration to the free-running pinhead. 14.4 grams, 46 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
Penannular brooches with facetted terminals were part of the famous Kostivere hoard, found in Estonia, deposited around 1220-1230 during the wars of Estonians against the Germans and Danes. The annular brooches with animal ornaments in Urnes style were considered by the archaeologists to be definitely Scandinavian, more specifically from Gotland.
